Preface ment Company, of 1872 is an instance in point. Its interrupted contracts with the railroads have since been generally exe- crated, and, as it is shown in these pages, probably rightly. But, while condemning these? contracts, be it remembered that they ^followed in principle the best lights .of the railway economy of the period ; that they were part of the generally accepted “evening system,” by which railways in perfeot good faith protected themselves against disastrous competition. To ap- point a group of the largest shippers “eveners,” and in return for a special rebate require them to apportion traffic among the roads, seemed at that time a practice both inevitable and legitimate. This knowledge of contemporary railroad history may not change the current judg- lhent upon the contracts of the South Improvement Company ; but it helps to a fairer distribution of the blame, if there be any, between the railroads and the company. v
